1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information collection method and system, and more particularly to an information collection method capable of providing information appropriate for a user depending on a state of using a consumable item such as printer toner, and a system therefor.
2. Description of Related Art
PCs (personal computers) are being used in various places such as offices and homes and often used with peripheral devices such as a printer, a scanner and the like connected through a LAN (local area network), a USB (universal serial bus) or the like.
Such peripheral devices inform a host computer, such as a personal computer controlling the peripheral devices, of the operational conditions, the occurrence of abnormality, or the like. For example, a printer notifies an abnormality, such as a lack of paper, a paper jam or a lack of toner, and the progress of a print job (printer's operational conditions).
It is known to provide a system and a device which enable to control a printer easily regardless of a distance by using e-mail to notify the host computer of the occurrence of an abnormality or the operational conditions of the peripheral devices.
And, it is known to provide a device which performs remote maintenance by sending a maintenance command as e-mail from a control PC, which controls plural personal computers connected to a network, to the personal computer being controlled.